tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post9034326477651716973..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: The Big SkyEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-4629496112918300832012-03-30T20:18:48.998-04:002012-03-30T20:18:48.998-04:00Glad you liked this one so much, Adam. It's no...Glad you liked this one so much, Adam. It's not one of my personal favorites - I think both <i>El Dorado</i> and <i>Hatari</i>, which you're ambivalent about, are better examples of this kind of laidback Hawksian buddy movie - but it's still really good and the atmosphere is pretty much perfect. I'd agree it's ripe for rediscovery, for sure, it's probably only availabilityEd Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-60302552741989115532012-03-29T01:08:11.999-04:002012-03-29T01:08:11.999-04:00Ed, this movie is in my school library on VHS, so ...Ed, this movie is in my school library on VHS, so I watched it last weekend. And... I think it might actually be my favorite Howard Hawks movie. Yes, above <i>The Big Sleep</i>. And above <i>Rio Bravo</i> and <i>Only Angels Have Wings</i>. All fine films. But I find myself strangely drawn to this one.<br /><br />I think part of it has to do with the setting. This is just a terrific movie about Adam Zanziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14524618281515322239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-33119458775226726592011-04-14T11:19:05.921-04:002011-04-14T11:19:05.921-04:00You're welcome. Since Rivette, the French actu...You're welcome. Since Rivette, the French actually worship Hawks...<br /><br />One thing I forgot : The Big Sky is also a Bildungsroman, a formation journey for young Boone Caudell - he will learn to control his impulses, become a team player, value friendship over rivalry, and eventualy let go his hatred for Native Americans by living among them. This is a classic Hawks 'man from boy'nem bajnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-6535219481966660942011-04-13T22:33:03.986-04:002011-04-13T22:33:03.986-04:00Whoa, thanks for the info on the R2 DVD. I'm c...Whoa, thanks for the info on the R2 DVD. I'm curious to see what the deleted scenes are like, even if they are in bad shape.<br /><br />Totally agreed on the film itself. There's no grand drama and the film is kind of slack in narrative terms, but the celebration of friendship and laidback adventure is really charming and enjoyable.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-49999654692649265472011-04-12T18:13:31.928-04:002011-04-12T18:13:31.928-04:00Actually, there is a PAL R2 DVD of The Big Sky tha...Actually, there is a PAL R2 DVD of The Big Sky that can be bought from France (under the localised title 'La Captive aux yeux clairs' at Éditions Montparnasse), and even a box set 'coffret collector' including the uncut version, which is 12 minutes longer. Beware, though : the copy of the cut scenes is in bad shape.<br /><br />The script decidedly avoids the darkness of the novel nem bajnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-19086785449983573592010-03-18T09:42:18.587-04:002010-03-18T09:42:18.587-04:00Damian, I agree it's a great film. Unfortunate...Damian, I agree it's a great film. Unfortunately, it is not available on DVD at all, and only available on DVD in a cut version rather than Hawks' original cut. I don't know why this fantastic classic is so thoroughly forgotten and obscure.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-50165888876416705632010-03-17T18:47:33.887-04:002010-03-17T18:47:33.887-04:00This movie has been a classic that I was raised wa...This movie has been a classic that I was raised watching. My family has used excerpts from this movie as long as I can remember... the whistle used when they were in the dinghy going to meet the Mandan in the fog is something that triggers many childhood memories. The Big Sky is an all around classic that I will never get tired of watching. I had a copy of it on VHS that quit working from Damiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-66875495917958997572009-03-19T22:08:00.000-04:002009-03-19T22:08:00.000-04:00Actually, I just finished 7 Men From Now - coincid...Actually, I just finished <I>7 Men From Now</I> - coincidentally after seeing it in the top 10 of a Top 100 Westerns list, and I have to say that's overrating it highly. I enjoyed it, especially Lee Marvin's stylistic warm-up for his roles as the bad guys in <I>The Comancheros</I> and <I>Liberty Valance</I>, but not nearly as much as the very tightly constructed, visually stunning <I>Comanche Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-45127580286955654792009-03-19T18:21:00.000-04:002009-03-19T18:21:00.000-04:00Thanks for the comments, guys. Sam, I highly recom...Thanks for the comments, guys. Sam, I highly recommend tracking this film down.<BR/><BR/>Hokahey, I obviously hold Hawks in much higher regard than you do -- I count him among the best few directors of the classical Hollywood era. I love the leisurely pace and casual treatment of plot in his films, and I love how he defuses the potential for (melo)drama inherent in so many of the stories he tellsEd Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-11234626247104658242009-03-19T17:09:00.000-04:002009-03-19T17:09:00.000-04:00This film is too slow for me - and I have to admit...This film is too slow for me - and I have to admit I'm not a big fan of Howard Hawks. I feel that in comparison with the novel, which I love, which is gripping and epic and physical, the movie doesn't amount to much.<BR/><BR/>I can see what Hawks is doing. I can see the development of characters and relationships, which he also does in <I>Rio Bravo</I>, for example, but I feel it is at the Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-20144294950900059002009-03-18T12:38:00.000-04:002009-03-18T12:38:00.000-04:00This is truly a stunning treatment of THE BIG SKY,...This is truly a stunning treatment of THE BIG SKY, a film that I am sorry to admit I never have seen, even if it's one of the few Hawks I haven't negotiated. It's interesting to note that you downplay the importance of a linear plot, in proper deference of the more vital concerns of "incidents and scenes that contribute to a vivid portrait of frontier life." It's ironic that I haven't watched Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com